The use of holsters for hand weapons goes back to prehistoric times, when hunters started to use quivers for their arrows. Even the use of holsters for handguns is almost as old as handguns themselves.
More recent effort have concentrated on the development of security holsters.
By way of example, the following patents present descriptions of related background developments.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,566, by Robert J. Beletsky, issued Jul. 7, 1992 for Security Holster Thumb-Break, discloses an assembly for releasably securing a holster safety strap. A dual position thumb break prevents removal of the pistol unless the open position is selected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,825, by Richard E. D. Nichols, issued Sep. 29, 1992 for Holster with Retention Device, discloses a holster having a retention device for applying pressure to a handgun in the holster to resist inadvertent removal of the handgun. An elongate band prevents removal of the pistol when force is applied.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,620, by Robert J. Beletsky, issued Apr. 6, 1993 for Security Holster Thumb-Break, discloses another assembly for releasably securing a holster safety strap, including a thumb break with directional release to open the holster.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,238, by Alan Baruch, issued Jun. 1, 1993 for a Holster for a Weapon with Laser Light capable of accommodating a pistol with attached laser light and including a safety retention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,448, by Randy R. Shoemaker, issued Dec. 14, 1993 for a Front Draw Handgun Holster whose side wall portions are adjustable toward one another to prevent a handgun from falling from the holster and from being grabbed by an attacker, and adjustable away from one another to release the gun for fast front draw as well as upward removal from the holster. The holster is angularly adjustable relative to the wearer's body. U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,317, by William H. Rogers and Norman E. Clifton, Jr., issued Jan. 4, 1994 for a Handgun Holster with a Lockable Trigger Guard Restraint. Such holster has a rigid body portion and two upwardly extending oppositely facing wall members forming a channel therebetween to receive a handgun trigger guard, a pivotable cam member in at least one wall member and locking means engageable with the cam to prevent it from being pivoted and a finger operable member to unlock the locking means. According to that patent, the holster disclosed therein preferably is made of a moldable leather/plastic laminate which is processed to have the unique contours to receive a selected handgun and is not suitable as a holster for any other gun shape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,559, by Glen Wisser et al., issued Feb. 1, 1994 for a Holster with Frame, and discloses anti-twist plates for resisting unauthorized removal of a handgun from the holster, and a security strap and thumb-break attached to the frame of the holster.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,281, by Richard E. D. Nichols, issued Feb. 8, 1994 for a Holster with Trigger Guard Gripping Device having at least one projection for extending into the trigger guard of a handgun, and being moveable with the gun between a first position in which the projection is rigidly held in the trigger guard and a second position in which the projection is only loosely biased into the trigger guard so that it can be released by simply pulling the handgun away from the gripping device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,021, by Alvah B. Brown, issued Mar. 7, 1995 for a Handgun Holster and Retention Block Therefor discloses a spring biased trigger guard latch that reduces the possibility of unauthorized release and that is located under the sheath material of the holster to conceal it from view.
Drawbacks of such prior-art proposals include impediment of fast draws of handguns through the presence of thumb breaks or other safety devices that need to be actuated by the legitimate user of the weapon, need of extensive training for intended users in the case of complex holstering systems, and lack of accommodation of accessories without provision of special holster pockets therefor.